Materials And Supplies

1 package sequins

1 package 3/8" sequin pins

1 vial small beads pair earring backs pair 1" cork earring bases, or one 1" cork fishing ball Duco cement

THESE attractive button earrings require no tools with which to make them. They are inexpensive, too. If more earring backs and cork bases are bought than for one pair, many can be made for the same outlay of money for sequins, pins, and beads. Sequins are sold approximately 450 in a cellophane package for ten cents. The beads generally come 1,000 in a glass vial for fifteen cents. The pins are sold in small boxes containing 500 for twenty-five cents. Cork bases and earring backs range between five and ten cents a pair depending on where they are purchased.

The earrings in the photograph were made with navy blue sequins and white crystal beads. The center article in the photograph is a hat ornament made with aqua sequins and red, black, and white beads. The basic method of construction is the same for both.

Procedure

1. If you have a cork fishing ball instead of cork earring bases, cut the ball in half with a sharp knife. Slip a pin point through the hole in a bead and pass the pin through the hole in a sequin and into the cork at the lower edge. As you place the second sequin into the cork next to the first one, have the second one overlap the first one slightly. The third sequin should overlap the second one the same way, and so on until the first round is completed.

Figure 51. Sequin Earrings.

Figure 52. Wire (Suji) Figures.

2. On the second row of sequins above the first row, overlap the sequins in the first row slightly in addition to the overlapping of the individual sequins on the second row with each other. Allow none of the cork base to show through. You will need a third and fourth row before you reach the center. Make both earrings with the same number of sequins in each row so that they match exactly.

3. Apply a small drop of cement to both ear wires and to the backs of the bases slightly above the center. Allow the air to reach the cement for about a minute, or until the cement becomes tacky, before joining the ear wires to the corks. Hold them together for another minute until the cement begins to set. Wait at least a half an hour before handling the earrings.